I've become really interested in horticulture (thanks college horticulture class) and I was wondering if anyone else is interested in it and maybe had some suggestions and stuffs for me (cause man idk what to do, I haven't even decided my major but horticulture sounds realllly fun and interesting!!!!)
I've become really interested in horticulture (thanks college horticulture class) and I was wondering if anyone else is interested in it and maybe had some suggestions and stuffs for me (cause man idk what to do, I haven't even decided my major but horticulture sounds realllly fun and interesting!!!!)
@
Killuazoomyck AhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHH PLANTS ARE MY JAM. (Weird coming from a Fire flighter, right?)
What kind of horticulture though? There's so many different branches - there's landscape design (making properties pretty), there's environmental conservation (like studying and mitigating invasive species, planting native ones, etc), there's agricultural (crops and other food/grain producing plants), and probably a whole bunch of others I'm not even thinking of!
My favorite thing to do is take nature walks and identify all the wild plants I find along the way. You should be able to find a Field Guide to local plants with photos in it at your local bookstore or library - grab one of those and go walking! Also, try your hand at gardening too (once it's growing season where you are); studying plants is fun but when you finally learn how to grow and care for them, it breathes new life into the interest. I've got an army of potted herbs and grow as many vegetables as I can fit into my garden plots during the spring and summer!
@
Killuazoomyck AhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHH PLANTS ARE MY JAM. (Weird coming from a Fire flighter, right?)
What kind of horticulture though? There's so many different branches - there's landscape design (making properties pretty), there's environmental conservation (like studying and mitigating invasive species, planting native ones, etc), there's agricultural (crops and other food/grain producing plants), and probably a whole bunch of others I'm not even thinking of!
My favorite thing to do is take nature walks and identify all the wild plants I find along the way. You should be able to find a Field Guide to local plants with photos in it at your local bookstore or library - grab one of those and go walking! Also, try your hand at gardening too (once it's growing season where you are); studying plants is fun but when you finally learn how to grow and care for them, it breathes new life into the interest. I've got an army of potted herbs and grow as many vegetables as I can fit into my garden plots during the spring and summer!
@
Killuazoomyck Ornamental horticulture is awesome, granted that's probably what I'm the worst at haha; the most ornamental plants that I grow are Calendula, and those aren't the prettiest. The flowers are lovely but the plants just tend to go whichever way they want! I used to grow California poppies too, was super jealous when I visited CA and saw that they just grow wild and thrive in the roadside waste soil.
With identification classes they always want you to use flash cards, and that's fine and good, but actually going out and seeing them yourself seems to be far more effective. I also study herbal medicine (on my own, not professionally or anything), and I've found that that also helps stick the knowledge of the plants in my head; knowing what they're used for, as well as what they look like when they're growing. Plus wild plant identification gets exciting when you're trying to tell the difference between something mundane like wild carrot versus something crazy toxic like water hemlock - they look similar at first, but you have to really study them visually to realize the differences.
Something really cool that I'm just learning about are rain gardens - we utilize those at my job (I work for the state transportation dep't), and it's SUCH an amazing difference from your run of the mill recharge basin (or 'sump' as they're better known). And they use 100% native ornamental plants in them! Not only are they crazy aesthetically pleasing but they're also way better for the environment, AND they're pretty much self-sustaining!
@
Killuazoomyck Ornamental horticulture is awesome, granted that's probably what I'm the worst at haha; the most ornamental plants that I grow are Calendula, and those aren't the prettiest. The flowers are lovely but the plants just tend to go whichever way they want! I used to grow California poppies too, was super jealous when I visited CA and saw that they just grow wild and thrive in the roadside waste soil.
With identification classes they always want you to use flash cards, and that's fine and good, but actually going out and seeing them yourself seems to be far more effective. I also study herbal medicine (on my own, not professionally or anything), and I've found that that also helps stick the knowledge of the plants in my head; knowing what they're used for, as well as what they look like when they're growing. Plus wild plant identification gets exciting when you're trying to tell the difference between something mundane like wild carrot versus something crazy toxic like water hemlock - they look similar at first, but you have to really study them visually to realize the differences.
Something really cool that I'm just learning about are rain gardens - we utilize those at my job (I work for the state transportation dep't), and it's SUCH an amazing difference from your run of the mill recharge basin (or 'sump' as they're better known). And they use 100% native ornamental plants in them! Not only are they crazy aesthetically pleasing but they're also way better for the environment, AND they're pretty much self-sustaining!
